Terra-Gen is proposing a 147 megawatt (MW) wind energy project in Steuben County, NY. The location of the components is still under review but the current proposal would include the Towns of Prattsburgh, Wheeler, Avoca, Howard and Cohocton. The project will bring a number of benefits to the community including well-paying jobs during both construction and operation, improvements to local roads, and payments of approximately $1MM annually to the community shared between the county and applicable towns and school districts. Wind is also central to New York's clean energy future that will support clean air, water and a healthy climate.
Technological advances allow turbines to reach stronger, steadier winds.* The Prattsburgh project will use 35 to 40 modern turbines, each generating usable amounts of electricity of 4 MWs and up over 90 percent of the time. Today's wind farms provide the same grid reliability as conventional plants.*
The average price of U.S. wind power declined by 69 percent in the last seven years. Made-in-the-USA manufacturing contributes to wind’s affordability. Over 500 factories in 41 states in the U.S. supply chain help avoid shipping large, heavy turbine components over longer distances.*
Wind power provides well-paying jobs for over 114,000 Americans. Turbine technician is the second fastest growing job in the United States, increasing 96 percent over the next decade.* The Prattsburgh project will employ 100 workers during construction and 12 plant operators once online.
December 29, 2023
Albany, NY
Click here to view the full Combined Notice to towns of Prattsburgh, Avoca, Cohocton, Howard, and Wheeler, Steuben
County.
Click here to view the recording of the virtual meeting held on November 4, 2020.
Click here to review a peer-reviewed article on sound.
Prattsburgh Wind Live Q&A Report
Setback Requirements for Wind Turbine Towers
The proposed 147MW Prattsburgh Wind Project (application linked here) is to be located in the Towns of Avoca, Cohocton, Howard, Wheeler and Prattsburgh in Steuben County, NY. The project will include up to 37 turbines with individual nameplate capacity between 3.8MW and 6.2MWs with tip heights of up to 655 feet and also include transmission lines, access roads, underground cable and a project substation. The project proposes to interconnect into the NYSEG 230kV Meyer to Avoca line and deliver power into the NYISO system.
Rural communities benefit from public road enhancements, increased tax revenues to fund local infrastructure and public services, schools and other community infrastructure. The construction and operations and maintenance create direct and indirect benefits of additional jobs and increased demand for local goods and services within the community. Leases for wind energy provide a long-term stable source of income for the families that host the components of the project and provide for additional secondary economic benefit in the area.
Climate Change continues to intensify. Without alternative energy -- windmills, etc. -- our peaceful landscape, our rural environment will vanish. Our beloved Ash trees will not be the only species we will lose.
When I look at the local wind mills, I see majestic, white, sculptural forms generating electricity for free! I am awed by their beauty, and deeply grateful for their purpose.
I want my grandchildren (all future children!) to breathe clean air; drink clean water; and be able to use electricity that does not pollute, destroy trees, or damn up water ways.
We support the proposed Prattsburgh Wind Farm project. We know this is a good opportunity for the town, school, county and Prattsburgh landowners to benefit financially from the abundant wind resource here.
I firmly believe that in order to have a sustainable future we need to move away from the use of fossil fuel to produce electricity sooner not later. I especially like the fact that wind power has the potential to produce countless new jobs in all sectors from wind equipment production to project construction to installed equipment operation and maintenance.
I see the Prattsburgh Wind project as a win-win for my community for many years to come.
As the proposed Prattsburgh wind project advances, public documents will be posted to this site.
In August of 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published a study regarding wind turbines and home values. Researchers “analyzed more than 50,000 home sales near 67 wind facilities in 27 counties across nine U.S. states, yet were unable to uncover any impacts to nearby home property values.”
According to an American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) study, American wind power saves consumers money. Adding wind energy to the generation mix reduces electricity prices, helps protect against future price shocks, and makes the energy market more competitive.
All energy supply options can have adverse environmental impacts. Over the past two decades, the impact of wind development on birds has been greatly reduced by improvements in turbine design and particularly through improved project and turbine siting. Birds and bats are occasionally killed in collisions with wind turbines. However, bird kills are limited to less than 0.02% of the total populations of songbird species, and orders of magnitude less than other causes.
Most of the components of wind turbines installed in the United States are manufactured here. There are 500 wind-related manufacturing facilities located across 41 states, and the U.S. wind industry currently employs more than 114,000 people.
Wind turbines can create two kinds of sound: a mechanical hum produced by the generator and a “whooshing” sound produced by the blades moving through the air. The vast majority of wind turbines are designed so that the turbine is upwind of the tower, which mitigates low-frequency and impulsive sound. Sound pressure levels for modern wind turbines at distances greater than 400 meters are typically less than 40 decibels (dBA), which is comparable to the lowest limit of urban ambient sound. Typically, two people can carry on a conversation at normal voice levels even while standing directly below a turbine.
Terra-Gen addresses potential sound issues in the permitting process through setback requirements and ensures that the project will comply with the applicable sound level regulations.
Please visit the ORES website https://ores.ny.gov or watch this Webinar prepared by NYSERDA on the ORES Siting Process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ9NqHow-ac
Those wishing to receive all notices concerning the proposed facility can subscribe here: https://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/531C3C8564EE05BB85257B2600740B16?OpenDocument
Below are a few resources and articles where you can learn more about wind energy:
American Wind Energy Association
Southern Alliance For Clean Energy
CleanTechnica: Wind Energy Prices Continue To Fall Due To Technology Advancements & Cost Reductions
Forbes: Want The Cheapest Electricity? Build Solar And Wind Farms, Not Coal Power Plants
Fortune: The 20 Fastest Growing Jobs in America—And How Much They Pay
The siting process under 94-c requires that applicants submit with their application $1,000 dollars for each MW of capacity, to be deposited into a local agency account to be made available to local agencies and potential community intervenors for the purpose of contributing to a complete record leading to an informed permit decision as to the appropriateness of the site and the facility, and for local agencies, shall include the use of funds to determine whether a proposed facility is designed to be sited, constructed and operated in compliance with applicable local laws and regulations. This includes the cost to defray expenses for experts.
The application has been filed as of September 23, 2022. Hard copies of the Application can examined during normal business hours at the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and at the Prattsburgh Free Library, Avoca Free Library, Cohocton Public Library, Howard Public Library and the Dormann Library.
Seventy-five percent of local agency account funds shall be reserved for local agencies.
Any local agency or potential community intervenor shall submit a request for initial funding within thirty (30) days of the date of application filing and such requests can be made to: general@ores.ny.gov or by mail to:
Attention: Request for Local Agency Account Funding
Office of Renewable Energy Siting
Empire State Plaza
240 State Street
P-1 South, J Dock
Albany, NY 12242
You can contact the ORES using the contact information below:
Office of Renewable Energy Siting
Empire State Plaza
240 State Street
P-1 South, J Dock
Albany, NY 12242
general@ores.ny.gov
Terra-Gen was established in August 2007, led by an experienced executive management team averaging over 25 years of relevant industry experience. The team has contracted or re-contracted over 10,000 MW of power generation facilities and has developed or acquired over $25 billion in assets over their careers.
